


Jötunn's First Halloween

by cruelest_month



Series: Kid Loki [4]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Avengers Family, Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, Halloween, Kid Fic, Kid Loki, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-31
Updated: 2012-10-31
Packaged: 2017-11-17 09:56:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/550326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cruelest_month/pseuds/cruelest_month
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki's first Halloween hits a few snags due to his disinterest in candy and Clint's dislike of unicorns. Luckily Natasha is there to save the day. (Loki is 3 years old.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jötunn's First Halloween

Although the ridiculous scrapbook Phil was keeping seemed to be in desperate need of a picture for Baby’s First Halloween, they didn’t get around to celebrating Halloween until Loki was about three. That first year, Loki had been two and more than a little shy and Clint didn't have the heart to try to shove a pumpkin outfit on the kid about a month after they’d adopted him.

Thor had assured Clint that baby Jötnar were virtually indestructible and unlikely to be traumatized by quaint albeit foreign customs.

Clint had advised Thor on several places where his lousy advice could be shoved.

The Asgardian had seemed pleased.

As a second opportunity for a first Halloween approached, Clint debated costumes and tried to get Loki to care. But Loki seemed uninterested in holidays that did not support his stuffed animal addiction. After trying unsuccessfully to convince Loki that candy was pretty awesome too, Clint just set the Halloween fliers on the floor and watched Loki crumple them up until Phil came home.

Phil considered the mess Loki had made before picking the toddler up and sitting down on the couch. “Rough day?”

“Our son’s a buzz kill.”

“Because?”

“Because he’s an ungrateful alien that’s ruining Halloween.”

Loki was following their conversation. He didn’t have a clear sense of what was being said so instead of looking even slightly apologetic, he smiled and started inspecting Phil’s tie. "Hi, father."

“Hi, Loki. He needs the right costume, that’s all,” Phil reasoned. “Or a proper motivation.”

“Yeah well, I think he can handle one month without proper motivation.”

Phil nodded thoughtfully, looking around the room at the strewn stuffed animals. Then at the wall across from them, which was lined with brightly-colored toy chests. “We do seem to be running out of space for the sort of bribes he likes.”

Clint silently accepted some of the blame and gave the lion’s share of it to his husband. Phil was strict about many things when it came to Loki. Sadly toys were not one of them.

Phil’s smirk suggested he was well-versed in reading Clint’s mind. He glanced down at their son and ruffled his hair. “Loki, what’s your favorite animal?”

“All of them.”

“Do you think you could narrow it down?”

Loki tilted his head.

“Maybe just your top ten?”

Clint rolled his eyes. “Phil, come on. He’s smart but he’s three. You have to ask better questions.”

“Such as?”

“Such as: What’s the best animal, Loki?”

“A unicorn.”

There was no way in hell any son of Clint’s was dressing up like a unicorn. “How about… The best animal you could see at the zoo?”

Loki frowned. “A unicorn?”

Clint sighed.

Phil shrugged. “If it would make him happy, maybe he should—”

“No, Phil.”

“I don’t see the harm in it.”

“Well I do.”

Phil shook his head. “I know he’s little and that this is possibly just a phase… But I still think we need to respect his interests, Clint. He’s a mythical being. It’s only natural that he would gravitate towards mythical creatures.”

“I know. I get that. But someday he’s going to be a teenager.”

“And?”

“And I don’t want him to look back on his childhood and remember that we stupidly let him be a pink unicorn for his first Halloween and hate us forever.”

Phil sighed and Loki sighed too before patting his father’s cheek.

“But don't worry. I’ll come up with something,” Clint said.

Phil nodded, rising to his feet. “Order dinner before or after you do that. I think Loki and I need a nap.”

“Sounds good.”

“Uh huh. Just know that if Loki looks back on his childhood and despairs because there weren’t enough unicorns in it? That’s going to be your fault. Not mine.”

“That’s fair.”

\---

He found Natasha just inside one of the Tower gyms. She finished drying her face and hair, tossing the towel aside as she waited for Clint to say something.

“So I have a problem.”

“With?”

“Loki’s lack of Halloween spirit. And his costume.”

“He’s not into Halloween?”

“He doesn’t get the point.”

Natasha nodded. “Because you didn’t sell him on it.”

“I tried.”

“Did you ask what his favorite animal was? Did you leave the choice up to him?”

“Sort of?”

She gave him a look that reminded Clint that she could read his mind almost as easily as Phil could. “Seriously, Clint?”

“Seriously, Nat. I’m his dad. I have to decide what’s best for him.”

Natasha laughed. “You have to let the unicorn thing go. As long as there’s unicorn toys to be had, Loki is going to want them. And as long as Phil is around, Loki is going to get them. Sometimes you’re even going to buy them.”

“I still hate unicorns.”

“I know,” Natasha dryly replied. “You’ve told me, but some people like unicorns. And fairies. And princesses. And colors that aren’t black and red. I’ve noticed that Thor and Steve don’t seem to think it makes them any more or less manly to play Princess Castle with your son.”

Clint shrugged. “I just don’t think it would kill Loki to branch out and obsess over… I don’t know. A manticore or a minotaur.”

“He’s three. Manticores are scary. But we’re straying from the point. Loki’s not sold on Halloween.”

“Nope.”

“And you don’t want him to be a unicorn.”

“If it’s at all possible? No. No I do not.”

Natasha muttered something unflattering about Clint in Russian. She crossed her arms as her expression turned pensive. “I’ll talk to him. And I’ll get him to wear a costume that won’t accidentally shame his ancestors. But you’ll owe me. Big time.”

\---

Loki had just finished eating dinner when Natasha stopped by to take him for a bit. When they came back, Loki seemed very excited and Natasha looked very amused.

“I’m a fish,” Loki announced.

“You mean you’re going to be a fish,” Phil gently corrected.

“That,” Loki agreed. “Halloween now?”

“Sorry, kiddo. Halloween is in two days.”

Loki pouted.

“What sort of fish are you going to be?” Clint asked.

“Flounder.”

Phil raised an eyebrow and gave Clint a certain bland but meaningful look that often doubled as a glare. Then he stroked Loki’s cheek. “Are you sure, honey? I know dad was being weird and insensitive and a jerk but… You can still be a unicorn. Unicorns are fun.”

“Not a unicorn. A fish,” Loki insisted. “Flounder.”

Phil’s next look Clint’s way was not very bland at all.

Clint rubbed the back of his neck. “What? A flounder’s cool. Right?”

“Yes, it’s perfect,” Phil dead-panned. “It’ll be a great conversation starter at parties. Did we ever tell you about the time our adorable and impressionable toddler wanted to be a unicorn? No? Funny story. We tricked him into being a bottom-feeding fish instead so he could retain some manliness.”

“I’m sure he’ll still be cute.”

“That’s not very comforting.”

Loki frowned at them and whimpered a bit until Phil picked him up.

“Sorry,” Loki said.

“Don’t be sorry, sweetheart. It’s okay. You can be any kind of fish you want.”

“Maybe we can compromise and he can be a salmon?” Clint offered.

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Let me save you both some trouble and explain. Loki and I are going to coordinate our costumes. We made a deal. I’m willing to be Ariel if he’s her little fish friend. His name is Flounder.”

Phil blinked then smiled a little.

Clint frowned. “Has he even seen that movie?”

“Parts of it. The ending’s too scary,” Natasha admitted. “He doesn’t care. I’ll be a mermaid, he’ll be an adorable yellow and blue fish for Halloween. And Loki likes fish.”

“I love fish,” Loki cheerfully observed.  

“You do,” Phil agreed. “Are you sure about this, Natasha?”

She nodded. “It’s not the same as a unicorn, but a mermaid will improve his interest in Halloween.”

“That’s really sweet of you,” Clint said.

Natasha shrugged. “You’re my family and this way I won’t have to hear about unicorns for a while. It’s a win-win for everyone. And everything outside of my dignity. But that’s the price Aunt Nat is willing to pay.”

It wasn’t a price Natasha would have agreed to a year ago, but Clint didn’t see any point in bringing that up. He was just happy that whatever issues she might have had with the previous Loki hadn’t affected her relationship with the current one.

“There’s one more thing,” Natasha added. “Stark needs to be sent away for Halloween. Far away.”

“I’ll make it happen,” Phil promised. “Clint owes you, you know. Big time.”

“Absolutely.”

\---

Over the next two days, Clint managed to say he was sorry to both his husband and kid without having to say those words exactly. He did hug a few stuffed unicorn toys, but that was all right too. And despite the fact that both costumes were fairly easy to order, Phil pretty much insisted on making Loki’s outfit and Clint had decided to learn from recent mistakes and not get involved.

As a family, they went looking for leaves in the park after getting Loki into his costume. The Flounder outfit only increased the adorability factor their son was already exploiting to his full advantage. Clint found that he couldn’t really complain about the fluffy, pastel fabric Phil had gone with although Clint wished he could look at his son in the outfit without ending up with a goofy smile on his face. Thankfully, Loki was still at the stage where he liked being cuddled within an inch of his life.

The outfit was also the reason why Loki’s candy limit quickly went from three to six pieces. Clint was positive that no other kid on Midgard could fail to grasp the importance of candy as much as their alien baby, but he watching Phil try to explain how candy limits worked to a three year old had been hilarious.

In either a show of solidarity or an active interest in matching, Bucky had agreed to be Ariel's Prince Eric. He helped Natasha with her fish tail and spent a lot of the night holding Loki who had a lot of questions about the daily lives, hobbies, and activities of mermaids.

In the interests of not scaring their son, Clint had decided to be Robin Hood and he’d convinced Phil to be the Sherriff of Nottingham. Bruce went the mad scientist route since it meant he didn’t have to put much effort into a costume, Steve was a Viking, and Thor had gone with the old school sheet-ghost approach to Halloween. When Pepper showed up an hour or so later, her Maid Marion costume was very pink, but Clint kept himself from saying anything when Loki admired it.

Loki liked the going from one level of the tower to the next, visiting people’s rooms, and having them fuss over him. He seemed to think the phrase “Trick or Treat” was incredibly funny for no real reason. But his favorite part of the ritual seemed to be reaching into his pumpkin-shaped pail and giving his candy away to whoever opened the door.

When that didn’t work, Loki handed the pieces off to Phil with an expectant look on his face.

Phil took the pieces, thanked Loki for them, and then put them back in the pail.

Loki took them out and hand them back to his father.

Phil repeated his previous actions, much to Loki’s delight. Then Loki gave the candy back to him again. And again. And again. After letting them enjoy this tedious game for nearly ten minutes and feeling decidedly left out the entire time, Clint offered to take the pail off of Loki’s hands.

Loki considered this, looking to Phil for approval.

Phil nodded, looking equal parts amused and confused as Loki gave Clint his pail. “Really? You’re taking our kid’s candy?”

“The candy he couldn’t care less about? No,” Clint assured him. “But the true meaning of Halloween is not standing in Thor’s hallway passing candy around with an easily-amused toddler.”

 “It could be,” Phil suggested.

“Play bizarre manner games with your alien offspring on your own time. Not when I decorated and came up with fun activities,” Clint insisted.

The only candy Loki showed a selfish interest in were the three lollipops Steve gave him. Each one was covered in a tissue so it looked like a ghost. That Loki seemed more inclined to use them for puppets rather than a snack wasn't very surprising, but at least it had the added bonus of being pretty amusing.

After candy-gathering, they spent time in one of the larger living rooms in the Tower. With some assistance from Bruce, Clint had decorated it with a lot of green, purple, and orange bats, pumpkins, and witches. In an effort not to ignore some of the scarier aspects of Halloween, Clint had tried to see if he could get away with a fluffy pink spider and dangled it from a very bright, inflatable coconut tree. Loki hadn’t been fazed by it. Thor, on the other hand and much to Loki’s amusement, had smashed the tree and torn the spider into pieces. When questioned about his reaction, explained it looked a lot like the Arbokim of Nair. Whatever that was.

Loki was able to draw face on a pumpkin with sharpie and go Fishing for Monsters in a small wading pool that had been located underneath the destroyed palm tree. Carving was obviously out of the question and Bobbing for Apples seemed pretty dangerous to attempt with a toddler. The fishing consisted of using a pole with yarn string line that had a magnet on the end and using it to snag monster pictures that had paper clips attached to them.

“I think we completed all the tasks necessary to call this a successful first Halloween,” Phil said when the night was winding to a close. Loki had fallen asleep with his head buried against Phil’s shoulder.

“That depends. What did you do with Tony?”

“I told him he was going on an undercover mission that was essential to the Avengers Initiative.”

“But in reality?”

“He’s dressed up like a pine-scented air freshener for some silent charity auction Pepper can never coerce him into attending.”

Clint grinned. “I love you.”

“Obviously,” Phil said with a smile. “And?”

“And yes. This is officially the best first Halloween ever.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks as always to fangirlSevera for beta-ing!
> 
> It's been awhile, but I will definitely be posting more Kid Loki fics in the near future. For holidays if nothing else. If there's interest in other aspects of his unique upbringing, let me know. I could always use more fic prompts. :)


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